Former Oakland Raiders center Barrett Robins has passed away, the Las Vegas Raiders announced on Friday, March 27th. He passed away at the age of 52. The cause of death was not immediately known.
“The Raiders family is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Barrett Robbins. The thoughts and condolences of the entire Raider Nation are with Barrett’s family and friends during this difficult time,” the Raiders said in a statement.
Robins famously disappeared from the team in the days leading up to Super Bowl XXXVII, which Oakland lost 48-21 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Robbins, who was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder, went missing on January 26, 2003, the day before Super Sunday. He returned to the team in time, but was ruled unable to play. Robins later told ESPN that he believed the Raiders had already won and was celebrating. He even made it to Tijuana, Mexico, but couldn’t remember why he went there. The 37th Super Bowl was held in San Diego.
“I mean, this was the biggest game of my life,” Robins told ESPN a few months later. “This is everything I worked for as a kid, as a young man, as a college athlete and as a professional. This is everything I worked for and … it’s unbelievable to me.”
Robbins was treated for bipolar disorder and alcohol abuse after the previous episode, and returned to the team after completing a 30-day stint in a rehab facility. Robbins later told HBO’s Real Sports that he would go into manic episodes for weeks at a time.
During the 2002 season, Robins appeared in the Pro Bowl and was named first-team All-Pro. The following season, he appeared in nine games in his final NFL campaign.
The Raiders selected Robins in the second round (49th overall) of the 1995 draft out of Texas Christian University. He started 105 games for the Silver and Black and appeared in a total of 121 regular season games.
The pre-Super Bowl episode was one of many mental health-related incidents Robbins has been involved in. He was shot three times during a scuffle with police in Miami Beach in 2005 and has since pleaded guilty to five charges related to the incident, including attempted murder. Robbins was charged with assaulting a woman and her daughter outside a Florida hotel in 2016, and was arrested three times in one month in South Florida in 2020.
Raiders teammates Rich Gannon and Tim Brown posted about Robbins’ death on social media, with Brown writing that Robbins’ wife Marissa told him that Robbins died peacefully in his sleep.
“Please pray for their daughters, his family, and the many teammates affected by this!” Brown wrote. “It’s a shame that his life has become so different since he wasn’t allowed to play in the Super Bowl! Rest in peace BR, you deserve it!”
